Gone in a Moment
by Mychand
Summary: Hawke's worst nightmare comes true as the Airwolf crew has to deal with a sudden loss and the old enemy who is behind it all.


_I've been plugging away at this one for weeks now. Had the beginning and end written but had issues with the middle. I'm just not an "action" writer. I like writing the relationship/drama parts. :o)_

**Gone in a Moment**

It was a warm and sunny spring day. Hawke had asked Caitlin to join him on a sailing trip. The sailboat was owned by an old friend of Hawke's named Hal. Hal brought along his wife and teenage daughter and the group set out for the day.

"Wow, this is so beautiful," said Caitlin as she and the other girls sunned themselves on deck. "It's so peaceful."

"We love it," said Hal's wife Judy. "Hal, Cami, and I come nearly every weekend when the weather is nice.

Caitlin smiled. "I'm so happy that Hawke asked me to tag along," she told them.

"We're happy to have you," replied Judy.

The group laughed, ate lunch and relaxed as they sailed along the coast.

"I guess we should be heading in soon," said Hal. "It'll start getting dark in a couple of hours.

"Time sure flies when you're having fun," replied Hawke. "I'm glad we came."

"You should come with us again sometime soon," Hal told him. "And bring Caitlin. She fits right in with Judy and Cami."

Hawke grinned. "I noticed that," he replied.

As they headed back in, what had started out to be a wonderful day suddenly turned into a nightmare. A large boat seemed to come out of nowhere and struck the side of the sailboat, nearly tearing it in two and knocking everyone overboard.

Hal quickly grabbed his daughter Cami as his wife made her way to the group. String was thrown further away and it took a few moments for him to surface after hitting the water. In what seemed like an eternity to him, he made his way over to the others. Suddenly, panic struck him as he noticed that Caitlin had not resurfaced.

"Caitlin!" he screamed. "Cait, where are you?"

When there was no reply, Hawke began to dive under the water and search for her. After several failed attempts, Hal grabbed hold of him and kept him from diving again.

"String, you're too exhausted," he said. "If you keep it up, you might drown."

"I've got to find her," he yelled. "Caitlin! Caitlin!" Hawke continued to yell but Caitlin never surfaced. Knowing he didn't have the energy to continue, Hawke grabbed hold of the floating debris that the others had clung to.

"You did all you could String," said Hal. "She was probably knocked unconscious when the boat hit."

"I didn't do enough," String replied, trying hard to fight back his tears. "I couldn't save her."

Within minutes, other boaters that had seen the accident made their way over to the group and pulled them all to safety. Hawke was quiet as they headed to shore and were all taken to the hospital to be checked out. Dom met them there after getting the call about the incident.

"String!" Dom had to keep from yelling as he joined him in the emergency room. Hawk was sitting on an exam table wrapped in a blanket.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Define okay," he told him flatly. "Caitlin's gone."

Dom sighed deeply. "I know," he said softly. "Michael is on his way up here too to talk to you about what happened. The coast guard is still searching for her body."

"She just disappeared Dom," String replied, his voice shaky. "I couldn't find her. I kept trying but she was gone."

"Hal said you did all you could," replied Dom sadly. "It was just a freak accident."

"I wouldn't call it an accident," replied Michael as he made his way into the room after overhearing the last part of their conversation.

"What are you talking about Michael?" String demanded.

"We have several eye witnesses that say the boat deliberately ran into you," replied Michael. "They identified the name on the boat. Here, take a look."

Michael handed Dom a file. His mouth nearly dropped open as he read it. "Well I'll be damned," he replied. "You mean to tell me that Horn owns that boat?"

"What?" asked Hawke as he pulled the file out of Dom's hands. "That bastard," he yelled. "He's going to pay for killing Caitlin!"

Dom put his hand on Hawke's arm. "Take it easy String," he ordered him. "You've been through a lot today. Let's get you home so you can get some rest."

"I can't rest Dom," he replied. "Not until they find Caitlin's body and I get Horn for what he's done."

"I have my best people out looking for Caitlin and Horn's boat," Michael informed them. "When we come up with something, I'll let you know."

Hawke was growing more furious. "He can't keep getting away with hurting people," he replied.

"He won't," Dom promised. "Not this time."

After the doctor released him, Dom took Hawke back up to his cabin. He barely spoke a word on the way there and when he got home, he went straight up to the loft and lay down on his bed.

"Is there anything I can get you before I leave," Dom said as he called up to him.

"No thanks," replied Hawke sadly. "I just need to be alone right now."

Dom sighed. "Okay," he replied. "I'll be back up to check on you soon. I'll call you if Michael comes up with anything."

"Sure," he replied flatly. "But I'm not holding my breath. Horn always manages to get away clean."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Three weeks later, Michael visited Santini Air to check on how Hawke was doing. He found Dom working alone in the hangar.

"Hawke still up at the cabin?" he asked Dom.

"Yeah, I can't get him to leave," he replied. "I've never seen him like this. Even when he lost Gabrielle it wasn't this bad. He can't seem to get over losing Caitlin. I can't either."

Michael sighed. "She was something special, that's for sure," he replied. "I just wish we'd have found her body. I figured it would have washed up on shore by now but apparently the tides must have taken her out."

"I can't think about that," replied Dom. "At least her parents decided to have a memorial service for her. I just wish String would have gone. He needs the closure."

"I agree," replied Michael. "Hiding up at the cabin isn't going to help him get over her loss. I just wish I had news on Horn. His whereabouts are still a mystery."

"Doesn't surprise me," replied Dom. "He's gotten good at hiding. I just can't figure out why he decided to hit that boat. Why did he want String dead now? He's had all this time. What's changed?"

"I don't know," said Michael. "But I'm not going to stop until I find him."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Dom went back up to the cabin that evening. When he got there he found Hawke sitting out on the front porch in nothing but a pair of jeans.

"How are you doing?" he asked, knowing the answer.

Hawke shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know," he replied. "Lately I've been feeling kind of numb. I can't get her voice out of my head."

"String, you've got to shake this off," Dom said in a worried tone. "This isn't healthy. Caitlin wouldn't want you to sit up here and waste your life away."

"No, she'd want to be up here with me," Hawke replied while slightly agitated. "She wanted so much more and I wouldn't give it to her."

"Come on String, this isn't your fault," replied Dom.

"Isn't it?" asked Hawke. "I'm the reason she got involved with Airwolf and Horn in the first place. She came to California looking for me. And in the end, I couldn't save her. She counted on me and I let her down."

"You did everything physically possible," replied Dom. "Hal told me what happened."

"I should have saved her," replied Hawke. "She didn't deserve to die."

Dom sat down on the steps and looked up at Hawke. "String, what can I do to convince you to come back to work with me?"

Hawke stared at him a moment before responding. "I don't know Dom," he replied. "Maybe I could move on if I could put Horn away for good this time."

Dom sighed. "Michael is still working on it," he replied. "We still don't know why he decided to go after you this time around."

Hawke shook his head. "He's planning something," he replied. "You can count on it."

As they spoke, the two watched Michael's helicopter land by the lake. Within minutes, he made his way up to the two men.

"What's going on Michael?" asked String.

"We finally have an idea as to what Horn is up to," he replied. "He's been spotted in Vegas. We think his cash flow is running low so he might be planning some sort of heist."

"Vegas? Really?" asked Dom. "I mean, he's good but you really think he'd tried to rob a casino?"

"Not really," replied Michael. "But there is a big jewel show this coming weekend. Some are worth quite a bit of money. My bet is that he's planning on robbing that and he didn't want Airwolf showing up to help stop him."

"You think that's why he tried to kill me?" asked Hawke.

"I'd bet on it," replied Michael.

"Then what are we waiting on?" asked Hawke. "Let's go get the son of bitch."

"Whoa," replied Michael. "We need to lay low for now and stay as far away from Vegas as possible. We don't know who he has watching us and we don't want to tip him off. I have a couple of guys who work the hotel where the jewelry show is taking place. They'll keep us apprised of anything we need to know. For now, we wait."

"I'm tired of waiting," replied Hawke. "But I guess I have no choice. He's going down this time. He's going to pay for what he did to Caitlin."

"If we're right, he' going to be at this show," said Michael. "He has a vested interest so he won't stay away."

"So we'll be going to the show too?" asked Hawke.

"Marella and I will be," replied Michael. "We'll be in disguise. I'm sure he will be too."

"Then how in the world will you be able to spot him?" asked Dom.

"Marella has done a lot of studying of Horn," replied Michael. "We know his face and body might be disguised but certain mannerisms are always there. She's pretty confident she can spot him regardless of the disguise."

Hawke sighed. "I agree she's good at what she does," he replied. "I just hope she can pull this one off."

"Just be on standby with Airwolf," he replied. "We know he'll make a run for it. I plan to have enough airpower to follow any vehicle that leaves the hotel. I'll also have all other escape routes covered."

"Alright," replied Hawke. "We'll be standing by for your call."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

The weekend seemed to take forever to come but finally, Hawke found himself waiting with Dom inside of Airwolf's lair. He paced back and forth, agitated at how long it was taking.

"I wish he'd hurry up and call," he told Dom. "He's going to slip through the cracks again, I know it. He always manages to get away. It's a long shot that Marella will ever spot him."

"Take it easy String," replied Dom. "This is the closest we've ever gotten to catching him since he first kidnapped you."

"I know," he replied. "That's what worries me. He's good. He has to know we're watching him."

Before Dom could reply, they got the call from Michael. Marella was sure she'd spotted Horn and his men were moving in. Hawke and Airwolf got to the hotel just as Horn's plan was unfolding. As his men moved in to take the jewels, Michael's people stormed in and prevented it.

"He's headed out the west side exit," Michael radioed Airwolf. "He's wearing a blue suit with a red tie."

Hawke immediately saw the man described climb into a black limo which quickly sped away. Hesitating to follow, Hawke swung Airwolf to the other side of the building. "Michael, have your guys follow that limo. I'm going to follow the one I just saw pull out of the east side parking lot."

The limo that Hawke was following quickly sped off and turned down several side streets before stopping. "Scanners show someone just got out and went inside that four story building on the left," Dom told him.

"Then I'm going in," said Hawke as he landed Airwolf on the roof.

"String, it could be a trap," said Dom.

"It probably is," he replied. "But I'm still going in because it could be my only shot at him."

Hawke quickly found the stairwell access from the roof and descended the stairs. He made his way down to a long series of offices before radioing Dom.

"Dom, can you tell from the scanners if there is anyone else on this floor besides me?" he asked him.

"Two doors down from you String," he replied. There are two people.

Hawke immediately stormed the office, gun in hand.

He was surprised to see Horn and his driver standing before him.

"How did you find me?" asked Horn.

"I promised to never give up," replied Hawke. "You took something I loved away from me and this time you're going to pay."

Horn smiled. "You know I'll get away don't you?" he asked. "You can't think I don't have a back-up plan, even now."

Before he could continue, Michael, Marella, and his people overtook the building and stormed in behind Hawke.

"I don't think you have a chance this time," said Michael as he moved over and put handcuffs on Horn.

Horn only smiled as they started to escort him out of the office. Unable to take it much longer, Hawke felt himself lose control as he went over and punched him in the face.

Horn managed another menacing smile as blood began to pour down his chin. "Oh, you'll never win," he told Hawke. "I'll get out of this, you can bet on it."

As Michael's men took Horn away, escorted by Marella, Hawke sat down in one of the office chairs.

"It's over," said Michael. "It's finally over."

"It'll never be over," replied Hawke. "He won't stop and we both know it."

"Well, we won the battle then," replied Michael. "He's in our custody."

"Did we?" asked Hawke. "Caitlin's gone and there's no changing that. I don't feel like we've won anything."

Not sure of how to respond to the last comment, Michael continued by telling him other information they had found. "We located where he's been hiding out all of the time. My men are searching it now. Hopefully it will give us some insight as to how he's managed to get away all this time."

"Sure," replied Hawke as the two made their way out of the office and he joined Dom back inside Airwolf.

"Let's go home Dom," he said sadly. "Our job here is done."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

The next day, Dom walked into Hawke's cabin and sighed. "You can't spend the rest of your life up there, you know?"

"I just need more time Dom," String responded sadly.

"I thought once we caught Horn you'd feel better," replied Dom.

"Yeah, I did too," said Hawke. "But honestly, nothing's changed. It still hurts just as much."

"Okay, well, Michael's people found something rather surprising at Horn's compound last night," he told him. "I brought it for you to see."

"Leave it on the couch," Hawke replied. "I'll check it out later."

Dom smiled. "Sure thing," he said, "I'll be back in a couple of days to make sure you're alright."

Dom headed out and Hawke heard him start up the helicopter and fly away. His mind drifted to Caitlin. "Hawke don't tease me," she had told him. "You always tease me."

"I wish I could now," he said out loud to himself. "I miss you Caitlin."

Still lying on his bed, Hawke turned on his side and drifted off to sleep.

About an hour later, he woke to the sound of someone coming up the loft stairs. The sun had set and it had gotten rather dark in the cabin. He lay still and waited for the intruder to come closer to him. Just as the person came towards him, he reached out and flipped her on her back pinning her arms to the bed.

"What the hell kind of welcome is that?" she asked him in a sarcastic tone.

Hawke reached over and turned on the nightstand light. He was sitting on top of her, straddling her and he couldn't believe his eyes.

"I thought you'd be happier to see me," she told him. "This isn't exactly the reaction I thought I'd get.

Caitlin was shocked by the look of hurt, sadness and confusion in his eyes.

Suddenly, Hawke let out a sigh of relief before leaning down and kissing her softly on the lips. "Is that better?" he asked while still unsure of what was actually happening.

Caitlin smiled. "Much," she replied.

String grabbed her and rolled over on his back, pulling her so she was now on top of him. Then, the he put his arms around her and hugged her tightly.

"I wanted so badly for you to be the thing Michael found at Horn's compound," he told her. "But I was so afraid to go and check. I was afraid I was wrong."

Caitlin smiled. "I was wondering why you didn't come down."

"I'm sorry," he told her, still holding tight. "How in the world did you end up with Horn? I thought you were dead."

"So did I," she replied. "When we went overboard, these two scuba divers grabbed me. They stuck a breathing apparatus in my mouth and dragged me under. The next thing I realized we were boarding Horn's boat."

"Did he hurt you?" asked Hawke, almost afraid of the answer.

"Not at all," she replied. "I was pretty much stuck in a small cell all this time and I was bored out of my mind. Beyond that, I was treated okay."

"What about your family?" he asked. "They had a memorial service for you. I couldn't bring myself to go. I'm sorry."

Caitlin gave him a squeeze. "That's okay," she replied. "I know it wasn't because you didn't care. I called my family this morning. They were relieved. I need to go and see them in a few days."

Caitlin rolled off of Hawke and onto her side, beside him. He grabbed her hand and held it tightly, not ready to lose contact with her just yet.

"I still can't believe you're here," he replied. "It's like a dream."

Caitlin grinned. "I promise you it isn't a dream," she replied. "I'm here. Apparently for a couple of days since Dom said that's when he'll be back."

"Sounds good to me," replied Hawke. "I've missed you."

Caitlin had never seen Hawke this attentive. She chalked it up to his being upset about her supposed death.

"Hawke," she said. "Dom told me that you've had a pretty hard time of it since you thought I had died. If anything ever does happen to me, I want you to promise me that you won't come back up here again and hide away. I want you to go on with your life."

String stared at her. He knew she was right but he also knew that it was his way of dealing with loss. "Sure," he replied. "I'll try."

Caitlin smiled and reached over and kissed him. "I'm tired," she said afterwards. "I really need some sleep."

"Will you stay here?" he asked, not ready for her to leave his side.

"Sure, I think that would be okay," she replied with a smile.

The two snuggled up and fell asleep quickly.

The next morning, Hawke awakened as the sun slowly drifted into the bedroom loft. He opened his eyes and realized that he was alone. Panic struck him as he jumped up and started looking around. "Caitlin!" he called out. "Was it all a dream?" he thought to himself. "Was she really here?"

String ran outside to the front porch of the cabin. He sat down on the steps and thought about the events of the night before. The sadness and despair he'd felt the past several weeks quickly returned.

"It was all a dream," he whispered before yelling. "It's not fair. I love her damn it!"

"Who?" came a voice behind Hawke.

String looked up to see Caitlin standing in the doorway. He had to catch his breath before jumping up from the steps and grabbing her. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her passionately.

"You," he finally replied before kissing her again.

"Are you okay?" she asked him afterwards. She could feel that he was shaking.

"Yeah," he replied. "I am now. When I woke up and you weren't there, I thought last night was all a dream. It scared me."

Caitlin smiled. "Sorry, I was looking for something to wear in your spare room. I didn't realize you were up. I didn't mean to scare you."

String let go of her and quickly pulled away. It dawned on him that she hadn't responded to his admission to her.

"What's the matter?" she asked, noticing the change in his demeanor.

"Caitlin," he said. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to push myself on you. I know were just friends…..family."

Caitlin smiled as she grabbed him and he allowed her to pull him closer to her. She put her arms around his neck and leaned in to kiss him. He instantly responded to her touch and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her even closer.

After they parted lips, she whispered in his ear. "I love you too."

Caitlin could tell that Hawke was finally starting to relax. His muscles loosened and his hold on her was less tense. "Want to take this upstairs?" she asked him, unsure of what the response might be.

"Are you sure?" he asked, slightly hesitant. "I don't want you to rush into anything you might regret."

Caitlin grinned. "Believe me," she replied. "I'm very sure."

Within that moment, Hawke's fear of losing her was gone as it was replaced by the excitement of loving her.

**The End**


End file.
